Kristie Cook's Blog, page 48

I love the latest word mash-ups that are quickly becoming a part of our vocabularies. You know, the combination of two words that make something even more fun. Five of my faves:CraptasticFantabulousFabuliciousRidiculiciousFrawesome (freakin' awesome - still catching on, so I thought it needed explaining)When we write a puke-draft of a manuscript and then have to go back and revise it, one of the things we're supposed to look for is a string of adjectives or adverbs, select the strongest one a...

There's some interesting conversation going on for and about YA writers at Carol's Prints and Invincible Summer. If you write YA, I suggest you check them out because they bring up some very valid points about writing YA. I don't write YA, but one of the issues brought up has made me go "Hmm..."
It's the point about who we blog for. Do we blog for other writers? For readers? For agents or editors we hope might be checking us out? Personal friends and family? After all, as I've said in this

It's a holiday weekend! Woot! Three days to do whatever we want. Yeah, right. More like two days to catch up on all the crap we didn't get done this week and, if we're lucky, an actual day off on the third. That's how my life is anyway. Has been since...oldest son was born nearly 18 years ago. LOL
I do have "work" to do, but it's mostly writing-related, so I'm not complaining (except for the clean the bathrooms and dust part - blech).
How about you? What do you have going on? Here are some...

Before I jump into Teaser Tuesday, I just want to give a shout-out for the contest at The Alliterative Allomorph. And not just because I admire her willingness and ability to type that title all the time! Sheesh. My fingers were tripping over each other. She's having an amazing contest and it's for a good cause to support The Writing Show. If you are a writer, you'll want to jump in . EXCELLENT prizes await. Check it out here. Understand that I'm being very generous here because I really, real...

Back to our discussion on Product, after last week's marketing hiatus for Mockingjay . 


Last time, we discussed how Products are ideally developed to provide a new way to meet customers' needs - filling the gap between their problems and lack of good solutions. Today we'll talk about why Product is important to you - the writer, the reader, the job seeker, etc. And this is simple: Because, of the entire Marketing Mix depicted above, Product is where you have the most control.
This isn't usually ...

The frawesome Dawn Embers brings us today's blogfest: Word Paint Blogfest. Here's the deets, as well as links to the others. Check them out - some beautiful descriptions by lovely writers.
Here's the gist of the blogfest:

The book is Word Paint: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively by Rebecca McClanahan. According to the book:

"Like painters, writers are the receptors of sensations from the real world and the world of the imagination, and effective description demands we sharpen our...

I finished Mockingjay in one day. And I'll probably read it again this weekend. Yeah, I'm sick, I know.
If you've finished, you'll get this. If you've read the first two, but haven't had a chance to read Mockingjay, don't worry I'm not going to spoil anything and I'm sure you'll still get this...it just slams home even harder after you're done. You know that emotional grip in the first two? Multiply it by thousands by the time you're done. And for those who haven't read these books...um, as a...

It's Monday, which means it's supposed to be Marketing Monday here on this blog.
But...
HUGE BUT!!!!
(No, not huge butt. Ew.)
BUT...
It's Mockingjay Eve!!
See that counter down there...less than 12 hours!! I haven't been this excited for a release since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (Okay, I lie. I was a hundred times more excited for my own release, but that's completely different.)
In preparation, I've been re-reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire this weekend. And now I'm getting...

Last week, I had a little whine fest and shared my gratitude, all with the hope of explaining why I've been a little quiet on the blogs lately. I've realized, with another relatively quiet week, that it's all about my feeling of being overwhelmed and the need to re-evaluate priorities and find balance. So I've been in a melancholy mood this week while I try to figure out what to do about the chaos.
Today, I share five things that have inspired me, with the hope that you can fall back on these...

Now that we've discussed the Target Customer here and here, it's time to move on to the first P in the Marketing Mix - the Product. Or, for the customer, the first C - Customer's wants and needs. For the most success, we should develop a Product that specifically meets our Target Customer's needs and wants. We identify the gap between what they need/want (their problem) and the products (solutions) that are currently available. Then, ideally, we develop a product that fills that gap.
*Aside...